There are a variety of games to play in casinos and other gaming environments, such as online gaming environments, that involve the use of an obstacle board such as a peg board. One such known game utilizes a quincunx board, also known as a plinko or Galton board. One mechanical quincunx board is a vertical board including a plurality of pins, pegs, or nails arranged in an array. Each pin, peg, or nail is equidistant from each of the pins, pegs, or nails adjacent to it. During play of the game, balls or discs are dropped from the top of the quincunx board. As gravity pulls the balls or discs through the array of pins, pegs, or nails, the balls or discs collide with the pins, pegs, or nails and change direction, speed, and/or rotation as a result. Eventually, the balls or discs reach the bottom of the quincunx board and are collected into bins. Computerized or video games that mimic a mechanical quincunx board have also been implemented.
Pachinko is another such known game. A mechanical pachinko machine includes of a network of mechanical pins, pegs, or nails spaced apart in a predefined, sometimes irregular manner extending from a board or background. The pachinko machine utilizes small steel balls. The player places a wager on the pachinko game and receives a number of the balls in a loading area. In one known system, the player pulls a spring-loaded pinball-like handle or knob and shoots a single ball into an upright or angled play area where the ball bounces from one pin, peg, or nail to another, through the network of pegs or nails. In another known system, the player sets a motor speed so that the ball speed falls somewhere between barely entering the play area to entering the play area at a high rate of speed. In either system, the ball falls through the network of pins, pegs, or nails either unsuccessfully to the bottom of the play area or successfully into a winning pocket, whereby the player wins a prize. Computerized or video pachinko games that mimic a mechanical pachinko game have also been implemented.
Games involving a quincunx board and pachinko games are simple, interactive, and considered by many to be fun and exciting to watch or play. Accordingly, these games make for an entertaining primary or bonus game in a gaming device, and there is a need to increase the level of interest, excitement, and volatility associated with playing these games.